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10 Essential Boomer Albums

Music critic Nelson George shares his list

by Nelson George, AARP The Magazine

  • Bob Dylan, Singer, Musician, Piano, Boomer Generation Soundtrack
    Archives/Getty Images

    'Highway 61 Revisited' (1965)

    Artist: Bob Dylan Dylan rankled folk fans by going electric, but he also expanded his audience and influenced a generation with songs that have been analyzed (and lionized) ever since.

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  • The Beatles, Band, Musicians, Singers, Airport, Airplane, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul MacCartney, Boomer Generation Soundtrack
    Alamy

    'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)

    Artist: The Beatles The culmination of years of artistic maturation and bold experimentation. The original rock concept LP.

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  • Marvin Gaye, Singer, Musician, Piano, Smiling, Portrait, Boomer Generation Soundtrack
    Jan Sandvik Editorial/Alamy

    'What's Going On' (1971)

    Artist: Marvin Gaye The sexy love man took on civil rights, the environment and inner-city turmoil, changing the tone of R & B, both lyrically and musically.

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  • Carole King, Singer, Musician, Boomer Generation Soundtrack
    PackStock/Alamy

    'Tapestry' (1971)

    Artist: Carole King King's songs of love lost, found and wasted spoke to the Me Generation's turn toward introspection.

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  • top ten boomer albums songs band bands best cds all time selling baby beatles dylan bob carole king tapestry sgt pepper marvin gaye goin on zeppelin led iv rolling stones exile main street stevie wonder innervisions eagles greatest hits slideshow (CBW / Alamy)
    CBW/Alamy

    'Led Zeppelin IV' (1971)

    Artist: Led Zeppelin Mystical and bombastic, acoustic and brash, Zeppelin defined '70s rock (and FM radio).

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  • A young caucasian couple enjoy a dinner outdoors with text that reads keep life fun and your calendar full.

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  • Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones, Band, Musicians, Singers, Performance, On Stage, Concert, Boomers Generation Soundtrack
    Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

    'Exile on Main St.' (1972)

    Artist: The Rolling Stones Incorporating blues, soul, country and gospel, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards dug deep into the era's spiritual malaise and made the Stones' most emotional album.

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  • Stevie Wonder, Singer, Musician, On Stage, Concert, Performance, Boomers Generation Soundtrack
    CBW/Alamy

    'Innervisions' (1973)

     Artist: Stevie Wonder The best of a series of innovative, hit-filled albums Wonder made in a 1970s creative surge, Innervisions changed the sound of popular music.

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  • The Eagles, Band, Musicians, Singers, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Don Felder, Portrait, Boomer Generation Soundtrack
    DWD-Media / Alamy

    'Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975' (1976)

    Artist: Eagles The Southern California rock band was both romantic and cynical, diluting any sweetness with a bitter edge that reflected the compromises of adulthood.

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  • Bob Marley Exodus (Ted Morrison)
    Ted Morrison

    'Exodus' (1977)

    Artist: Bob Marley & the Wailers The sensual, spiritual album that helped make reggae one of the most popular musical genres in the world.

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  • top ten boomer albums songs band bands best cds all time selling baby beatles dylan bob carole king tapestry sgt pepper marvin gaye goin on zeppelin led iv rolling stones exile main street stevie wonder innervisions eagles greatest hits slideshow (CBW / Alamy)
    CBW/Alamy

    'Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track' (1977)

    Artist: Various The percolating rhythms of disco captured the zest, decadence and hustling of the dance boom.

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  • AARP Baby Boomers (Sean McCabe)

    Boomers@50+


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As the last of the Baby Boomer Generation turns 50 and more baby boomers are retiring, AARP celebrates the generation that changed the world.